Same-sex couples grateful for opportunity to wed at Heronswood

Greg Nolan (left) and Bill Trombley share a kiss at the conclusion of their wedding ceremony Sunday at Heronswood Gardens. The Vashon Island couple, married by Sharon Purser, took advantage of the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe's offer to host same-sex weddings on its grounds the first day it was allowed in the state.
Steve Zugschwerdt / Special to the Kitsap Sun

KINGSTON - Standing before an intimate gathering of family and friends, Greg Nolan and Bill Trombley confessed their love for each other.

Together for 15 years, the couple long ago committed themselves to spending the rest of their lives together. Sunday that commitment became more than just words. It became legally binding.

The Vashon Island couple married at Heronswood Gardens, followed by four other couples that secured a coveted spot at the spacious botanical gardens now owned by the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe.

Walking through the gardens to the ranch-style house where the ceremony was performed, the men talked about what the day meant.

"I'm not surprised I'm not at all nervous," Nolan said about his lack of wedding-day jitters.

It was his first time down the aisle and Trombley's second. Trombley was previously married to a woman. His grown children, Bob and Emily, were at Sunday's ceremony.

Trombley learned of the opportunity to wed at Heronswood from a friend and called Nolan immediately. The pair didn't have to think twice about tying the knot.

"We said some day if it's meant to be we will be able to be married," Trombley said. "I just always imagined a spring or summer wedding, but this is how it's meant to be."

It was a day they'd dreamed about for years, but they only had a week to prepare. Because of the short notice and the small guest list — they could only invite 12 people — the couple has planned a large reception for September in the gardens of their Vashon home.

Before walking down the aisle, the two pinned their lapels with white roses held in small silver vase pins from the 1920s that Nolan had been saving.

As their friends took their seats, the couple were asked if they were ready.

"We've been ready for 15 years," Trombley replied. "Let's do this, we're not getting any younger."

After a quick, heartfelt ceremony, the couple were congratulated by friends. Wiping tears from her eyes, Emily Trombley told her father they'd made her "cry like a baby."

Nolan has been a second father for most of her life, Emily Trombley said.

As Trombley and Nolan headed to a friend's house on Bainbridge Island for a celebratory brunch, another couple was anxiously preparing for their big moment.

With last-minute makeup touches complete and their rings safely stowed in gray boxes, Kathryn Higgins and JoIda Reed walked through the gardens with their entourage of friends in tow.

Like Trombley and Nolan, the Maple Valley couple jumped at the chance to get married three days after same-sex marriage was legally recognized in the state.

"When we got together, we would have gotten married then," Higgins said.

The pair said "I do" in an emotional ceremony that included a song titled "Grateful" performed by friend Cheryl Krieger Brown. The song's chorus of "Grateful, in this moment I am grateful" was perfect for the women who have been together more than 15 years.

"We're just so grateful for Heronswood," Reed said. "The tribe has been just awesome and so phenomenal."

While the gardens won't open to the public until next year, the tribe wanted to offer an intimate setting for same-sex couples to wed on the first weekend their unions were legally recognized by the state. Noel Higa, the tribe's economic development director, suggested the idea a week earlier.

Even with short notice everyone jumped on board, he said. That included nontribal members who donated items to make the day special including flower arrangements, bouquets, cupcakes and makeup.

Tribal members volunteered Sunday to decorate the house and stayed to make sure the ceremonies went off without a hitch.

"It's just been a feel-good event for us," Higa said.

Heronswood founder Dan Hinkley was on hand for one of the first ceremonies. Hinkley and partner Robert Jones founded the garden in 1987 but sold the property in 2000. The tribe bought it earlier this year at auction and Hinkley is volunteering to help restore the gardens.

To see same-sex couples marry in the house he lived in for more than 20 years surrounded by the gardens he's helping bring back to life was more than he could ask for Sunday.

"It's just a really happy day all across the board," Hinkley said.

Hinkley and his partner plan to marry next summer, which will mark their 30th anniversary. They're still debating whether to marry at their home in Indianola or Heronswood.